Hello everyone. I am sure some of you saw my frantic posts over the last few days with my sick kitties. They are doing much better now. It seems the culprit may very weel have been their crazy diet. I have thrown out all the cheapie cat food... its not even fit to give away (thats how I got it) and I am sure some Racoon or Bear will find it in the trash. Right now I have a few serviing of IAM's kitten food left, I know IAM's isnt great, but its the best I have on hand till I can get out to the petstore this evening. I would have gone sooner but have a bad sprain/possible fracture in my ankle making driving a standard next to impossible. I am also feedinng the kitties the prescription canned food too.

My plan is to buy another small bag of the IAM's kitten to use while transitioning them to the new food, I will then mix the IAM's and new food, and the prescription food too till I run out.

So I need a quality kitten food to feed both kitties for now, in 3 months I guess I am supposed to move Hunter to adult food.

Questions
1. Can Hunter stay on kitten food longer so I only need to buy one type of food... especially since the kitten prefers whatever is on Hunter's dish.
2. How much canned and how much dry each day? Oreo is about 3.5 lbs and Hunter is about 7 lbs as he lost a little weight while sick.

Also, I am leaning towards uing either Nutro or Wellness. Which is superior? Which has a better value for the price? We are a budget... as usual. Which do cats accept better? I have heard a few people say their cats won't eat the Wellness brand which is what I tried feeding my dog and she would not eat it either.

Hi, I am so glad to hear that your babies are now doing better.. that is great news.

As for the cat appeal of the various brands - what one loves, another may reject. Its a bit of a trial and error, I'm afraid... as there is no 'one" that can be said is best for 'all' cats.
The highest rated, super-premium food is of little use if your cats wont eat it.

I personally like Go Natural, Wellness and Felidae.
The amounts to feed would vary, I like free freedng of the dry, and you could experiment with the wet food as to how much to put down.

I dont know how old Hunter is.. but dont think it would hurt him to stay on the kitten for a few extra months... but not much past that.

You are right on the mark in wanting to offer the best, most nutritious food that you can afford, and that your cats do well on.
Through research and a bit of experimenting with your kittens.. you can find just the right combo - and that will be the best food for you..

Here is a link of cat food comparisons that may be of help. The foods listed are widely thought to among the best in a commercial food..any of these would be a good choice.

Cats very often do not drink enough, as they lack the strong thirst mechanism that dogs have.

Neutered male cats have quite a small urethral opening. Not drinking enough AND eating dry food only combines to make urine quite concentrated, and crystals can form and cause blockages if they cannot pass.

Canned food contains a large amount of water, which aids in keeping urine dilute.

Canned food is NOT any worse for teeth than dry. This is a myth perpetuated by makers of dry food. I prefer my cats to eat mainly canned food.

JDG,when my two (altered) cats were young, one male and female.. I began them on an all dry premium food.
At age two, the male suddenly became deathly ill with a blockage - the vet said to introduce wet food. Male urinary tract problems can really be reduced this way, I didnt realize it at the time, but he was not getting enough water.
Three years later and no returns of this problem confirms the connnection for me.

However, this same male has recently had constipation (and liiterbox problems)
Lucky advised me to feed the males tinned "primarily" - not as just a supplement as I was doing.
Two months later.. this problem now seems also solved, I'm happy to say.

I now feed all of them wet food twice a day as their mainstay, and leave a little dry to nibble on only.

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When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself - Wayne Dyer

That's what my kitties are eating.I switched from Royal Canin Indoor to the Performatrin Ultra.The canned is going to be available very soon.They do great on it.Caspers hairball presents are next to nothing.....

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"A dog can express more with his tail in minutes than his owner can express with his tongue in hours."

Not to just say"ditto" ,but I too have always fed my cats(3 neutered males) canned food twice a day and dry 24/7,all 3 of my cats drink a lot of water.
Through trial and error,I have narrowed the dry food down to 2 kinds that they like,Nutro Complete and CSFPLS(chicken-soup-for-cat-lovers-soul),reasonably priced and good ingredients.
As for the canned,I tried everything,but they refuse anything other than Fancy Feast